SPHENOPTEEIS. 



107 



2.— Sphenopteris Fittoni, sp. nov. 



[PL vi. fig. 2 ; PI. vii. fig. 1.] 



1836. Sphmopteris graeilis, Fitton, Trans. Geol. Soc. vol. iv. ser. ii. pt. ii. 



p. 103. 

 1849. JPaoht/pteris gracilis, Brongniart, Tableau, p. 107. 

 1852. Paehypteris gracilis, Ettingshausen, Abh. k.-k. geol. Eeiclis. vol. i. 



Abth. iii. No. 2, p. 24. 

 1864. Asplenium palteopteris, Unger, Eeise Fregatte Novara, vol. i. Abth. 



ii. p. 3, pi. i. fig. 4. 

 1893. ? Sphmopteris Belgadoi, Saporta, Eev. gen. bot. toI. t. 1893, p. 270, 



pi. iv. fig. 5. 



Type. Part of a frond. Britist Museum. PL VI. Fig. 2. 



Frond ovato-lanceolate, bipinnate ; pinnae linear acuminate, 

 alternate ; pinnules alternate, ovate acuminate to deltoid, de- 

 current, ■with entire, slightly dentate or deeply lobed margin. 

 Venation of the Sphenopteridis type. 



In a paper read before the Geological Society in 1827 Dr. 

 Fitton briefly described a Wealden fern from near Tunbridge Wells, 

 which he subsequently figured under the name of Sphenopteris 

 gracilis} At the time when Fitton's paper was read no species of 

 that name had been described, but before his work appeared in the 

 Geological Transactions, Brongniart had referred a Carboniferous 

 fern to the genus Sphenopteris under the name S. gracilis. 



In a later work Brongniart refers Fitton's species to Paehypteris 

 gracilis. The specimen which Fitton figured as the type of 

 Sphenopteris gracilis is in the Museum of Practical Geology, 

 Jermyn-street. No doubt the impression has sufiered to some 

 extent since 1836 ; the specimen no longer shows the form of the 

 pinnules with the clearness of outline represented in the figure. 

 The general habit of the frond is, however, faithfully reproduced. 

 In some of the pinnules there are slight indications of a midrib, 

 and an occasional suggestion of dentate margins. 



I propose to retain the original generic name Sphenopteris, and, 

 in view of the fact that the term gracilis has been applied to 



' Fitton, Trans. Geol. Soc. vol. iv. ser. ii. pt. ii. p. 103. 



